Angelina Jolie undergoes double mastectomy

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Empowered patient: Angelina Jolie

Story highlights

A blood test can detect if a woman is "highly susceptible" to breast or ovarian cancer

Jolie reveals she carries a gene that increases her risk for cancer

Her mother died of ovarian cancer in 2007

Jolie is a U.N. special envoy and won an Oscar for "Girl, Interrupted"

Actress Angelina Jolie announced in a New York Times op-ed article on Tuesday that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she carries a mutation of the BRCA1 gene, which sharply increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

"My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman," Jolie wrote. "Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."

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She wrote that her experience involved a three-step process. On February 2, the actress had a procedure that increases the chance that the nipple can be saved. Two weeks later, she had major surgery where the breast tissue was removed and temporary fillers were put in place. Nine weeks later, she described undergoing "reconstruction of the breasts with an implant."

"There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years," she said, "and the results can be beautiful."

"I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made," Jolie wrote. "My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent."

BRCA stands for breast cancer susceptibility genes, a class of genes known as tumor suppressors, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Jolie may be best known for title role in the "Lara Croft" series of films, but she also won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in "Girl, Interrupted." She also received a Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same role.

The actress has been in a relationship with actor Brad Pitt since the mid-2000s, and they are engaged. The couple has three biological and three adopted children.

In telling her story, Jolie acknowledged that surgery might not be the right choice for every woman.

Celebrities battle cancer 25 photos

Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, perhaps best known as the inspiration for the doctor portrayed by the late actor Robin Williams in the 1990 film "Awakenings," has revealed in a New York Times essay that he has cancer. It's not Sacks' first bout with the disease. Nearly a decade ago, he was diagnosed with ocular melanoma that eventually left him blind in one eye and served as the basis for one of his books, "The Mind's Eye."

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Fans of singer Morrissey knew the star had been ill after he canceled some U.S. tour stops in June, but it appears the performer has been battling cancer. "They have scraped cancerous tissues four times already, but whatever," Morrissey said in an interview with Spanish language outlet El Mundo. "I am aware that in some of my recent photos I look somewhat unhealthy, but that's what illness can do. I'm not going to worry about that."

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Diem Brown, one of the stars of MTV's "The Challenge," was diagnosed with cancer for the third time in August. Doctors discovered a tumor blocking her kidneys, People.com reported, slowing her recovery. Brown died in November.

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

When former "Good Morning America" host Joan Lunden learned she was facing an "aggressive" form of breast cancer, she was determined to face her health battle head on. Knowing she would need chemotherapy, Lunden decided to remove her familiar blond hair before her locks could be affected by the treatment. "You know it's going to happen one of these days and you are wondering how or when," Lunden explained to People magazine, which she posed for without her wig in September. "So I just owned it."

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Hugh Jackman took to Instagram in May to share a photo of his nose, which was bandaged because of treatment he had on basal cell carcinoma.

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Former "Dancing With the Stars" co-host Samantha Harris was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. Harris told People magazine she detected a lump during a self-exam and then followed up with a specialist after receiving a clean mammogram.

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Actress Brittany Daniel of "Sweet Valley High" and "The Game" has been quietly dealing with stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Daniel recalls in an issue of People magazine that her 2011 diagnosis "happened so suddenly," but she's been able to face it with the support of her family.

ABC's Amy Robach found out she had breast cancer in November 2013 after she had a mammogram done live on "Good Morning America" for cancer awareness month.

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Radio personality Robin Quivers quietly battled cancer for months, but she had happy news to share with "Howard Stern" listeners in September 2013. On the show, Quivers revealed that her doctors believe she's cancer-free after receiving treatment, including chemotherapy.

Sharon Jones held off plans to tour and release a new album with the Dap-Kings after being diagnosed with stage 1 bile duct cancer in 2013.

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Michael Douglas offered some interesting insight as to how he may have developed the throat cancer that he was diagnosed with in August 2010. Douglas later told the "Today" show that his tumor was gone.

Actress Christina Applegate had a bilateral mastectomy in 2008. Doctors had diagnosed her with cancer in her left breast and offered her the options of either radiation treatment and testing for the rest of her life or removal of both breasts.

KISS band member Peter Criss sat down with CNN's Elizabeth Cohen in 2009, a year after his battle with breast cancer. The musician said he wanted to increase awareness of the fact that men can also get the disease.

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Cynthia Nixon not only joined the cast of Showtime's "The Big C," about a woman battling the disease, and portrayed a woman with cancer in the Broadway play "Wit" -- Nixon was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.

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Celebrities battle cancer25 photos

Zoraida Sambolin was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2013, and she chose to have a double mastectomy. Sambolin said that Angelina Jolie's New York Times opinion piece about undergoing the procedure gave her courage to share her story.

"Three's Company" star Suzanne Somers spoke with CNN's Piers Morgan in 2012 about her stem cell surgery and her bout with breast cancer. She was diagnosed in 2001, which is when she began researching alternative methods to reconstructive surgery.

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Olivia Newton-John was diagnosed in 1992, and the singer has become an advocate for breast self-examination.

Australian singer Kylie Minogue was only 36 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005.

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EXPAND GALLERY

Life of Angelina Jolie 25 photos

Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Angelina Jolie meets members of the Yazidi minority at a refugee camp in Khanke, Iraq, in January. While Jolie is now known for her humanitarian works and action movies, she has been in the spotlight since she was a child. Here's a look at her life.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie hugs her father, actor Jon Voight, in Los Angeles in 1980. Her brother, James, is at left.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie, then 15, poses for a photo in January 1991.

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Jolie and Voight are seen in an undated photo.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie attends an event in New York City, circa 1998.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie appears at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2000. She won best supporting actress for her role in the film "Girl, Interrupted."

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie and her husband at the time, Billy Bob Thornton, appear at the premiere of her film "Gone in 60 Seconds" in June 2000. They divorced in 2003.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie and her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, are photographed at the premiere of Jolie's film "Original Sin" in July 2001. Bertrand died of ovarian cancer in January 2007.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie distributes balls to children at the Tham Hin refugee camp, on the Thailand-Myanmar border, in May 2002. She was a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees before she became a special envoy for the agency in 2012.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie carries her son Maddox at the world premiere of "Shark Tale" in September 2004.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in March 2004.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie attends the German premiere of "Alexander" in December 2004.

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As part of her role as goodwill ambassador, Jolie speaks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad, Pakistan, in May 2005.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Producer Arnon Milchan centers Jolie and actor Brad Pitt at the premiere of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" in June 2005. Jolie and Pitt became a real-life couple and married in 2014.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie and Pitt appear at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie greets fans at the Russian premiere of her film "Salt" in July 2010.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

Jolie walks with four of her children -- from left, Maddox, Zahara, Pax and Shiloh -- at Japan's Narita International Airport in July 2010.

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Jolie appears at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2011.

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Jolie and Pitt appear at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January 2012.

Jolie appears at an April 2013 news conference in London about sexual violence against women in conflict.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

In May 2013, Jolie announced in a New York Times op-ed that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she carries a mutation of the BRCA1 gene, which sharply increases her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Here, in June 2013, she makes her first red carpet appearance since the surgery, attending the London premiere of Pitt's movie "World War Z."

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Jolie accepts the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in November 2013, during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards ceremony.

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In the 2014 film "Maleficent," Jolie plays an evil sorceress who tells her side of the story. The movie opened at No. 1 and earned $69.4 million in its first weekend in U.S. theaters.

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Life of Angelina Jolie25 photos

In October, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II made Jolie an honorary dame for her work to root out sexual violence in war zones.

"For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options," Jolie wrote. "I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices."

But for Jolie, the decision ultimately came down to her kids.

"I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer," she said.